Tan eyes Citigroup Int’l treasurer to head PNB-Allied Bank

Tobacco and beer magnate Lucio C. Tan is hiring a new chief executive officer who will lead his soon-to-be-merged banking units — Philippine National Bank (PNB) and Allied Banking Corp. Listed PNB told the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday the appointment of Eugene Acevedo — treasurer of Citigroup International Limited — was pending approval by the bank’s board. His appointment in place of PNB CEO Omar Byron T. Mier would not become effective until after the bank’s annual stockholders’ meeting on May 25, PNB Corporate Secretary Renato J. Fernandez told the bourse. Mier, who is set to retire this June, would remain a member of the PNB board and would become PNB’s representative to the board of Victorias Milling Corp., a quarter of which is owned by the Tan group, he added. Acevedo is also the Citigroup managing director and head of global markets for the investment bank’s Hong Kong and Taiwan cluster. He is also the country treasurer for Hong Kong and Macau and is the chairman of the bank’s Markets Asia Recruitment Committee. "We are unable for lack of credible information to make any comment… regarding who convinced Mr. Lucio Tan to pick Mr. Acevedo," Fernandez said. The merger of PNB and Allied Bank was supposed to have been completed in December 2008, but was deferred after the US Federal Reserve required Allied Bank to sell its 28-percent stake in California-based Oceanic Holdings (BVI) Ltd. first before merging with PNB. Allied Bank expects to sell the interest this year, paving the way for the merger that will create the country’s fourth largest lender in terms of assets. PNB is ranked fifth now, while Allied Bank is ranked 11th. — N.P. Aquino, GMANews.TV